You Only Live Once #YOLO. Better an “Oops!” than a “What If?”

Better an “Oops!” than a “What If?”

Such a wonderful sentence to bring out the dilemmas of our lifetime.
Isn’t it?

He loves me, he loves me not…… What if he says a no? Hey, it is the weekend. Let’s
experiment with a new dish. What if it’s a disaster? I am sitting idle. I am
without a job. What if I don’t get a job? I am struck with this job. I want it
out. What if I resign?

What if I am alone? What if I have no friends?

… And amidst all these ‘what if’s, we get lost. And we curse the circumstances,
our loved ones, sometimes even ourselves. Maybe it is human nature to fear the
uncertainties of our Future, of the so-called moments of “Oops” of our lives.
Trust me, this feeling is one of the Dementors of Harry Potter. These many, of
all the wrong reasons, what if’s result in cocooning ourselves to our own
circles. And we get so accustomed to it, eventually, that coming out of the
closet becomes so difficult.

Traveling or visiting a foreign place, too, is often such a deal. A
predicament. Yet, a chance to relax. It is more of uprooting yourself from a
defined environment and accepting the uncertainties. So if we are to judge, traveling
out is more of an oxymoron. To venture out into the unknown. Somewhat a foggy
Limbo. So many what if’s to face off. You go through Lonely Planet; you
find so many tales of travel fails. But does that stop people from traveling?
No. It is not always good experiences. Life is not always a bed of roses;
neither is it a bed of thorns. At times, you could face sore situations. But
that doesn't stop you from venturing out. You learn from your mistakes, other’s
stories of mistakes. And, you evolve.

Why wait for all the opportunities when every day, every moment is one?
Embracing them as they come, makes it a lot easier. We are afraid of the consequences.
Well, yes, I am too. And this is exactly where traveling makes us strong. Learning
your own way, through and through. Fighting your fears makes you a winner
against all odds. You travel to places, you notice things, of little
importance, minutely. And, you get to look at life closely. You get to learn
from the people you meet. Sometimes, benevolence even in the midst of
hardships. And you appreciate things that you were complaining about, a few
days back. Sometimes, bitterness, mostly and surprisingly in the riches. Whatever
be the case, it is a win-win scenario.

If you ask me, the biggest what-if of my life is ended up being alone.
How I tackled it? I took to traveling. I went out and made friends on the
roads. I met two wonderful women on the way to Sikkim. I came to know familiar
faces, more closely. I saw a couple fighting over trifles and falling in love
in the snow all over again. In a fewer span of days, my otherwise monotonous
life became lively in the bits of experiences. At the end of every trip, I
return back rich with experience.

So, next time, let your fears mold you into a better you but not overthrow
you. Cast out of the couch of self-doubts and step out into the greens and blues
of the planet. If you want to be the traveler,
be so. If you want to adopt your passion as your profession, do it. Do not back
out for the fear of failure. To err is human. Summon up #YOLO trend, it is in
rounds now. And take the leap. The World is waiting out there for you.

Search out on the internet and you will find a million examples who took
the path less picked. They all took their chances. It is not always a
calculated risk. Some left their corporate life, some took gap-years, some
chose to travel along with their work. But they all set examples. Because they
chose their what-ifs and were not worried about regretting it. But, saying they
were not anxious, would be a lie. But they risked seeing the other side of
their what-if’s. And, in doing so, they fostered and came out successful.

[If you want to know about them, keep
checking DoiBedouin for updates.]

A civil engineer and researcher by profession and an avid traveler, hailing from India, with an appetite for experiencing places in a more instinctive way- absorbing the culture and the tradition, the dialect and the geography of the place. Be it any ‘-scape’, mountain, sea, city or desert, conquering the unknown is always a thrill, an added adventure activity would be a quintessential spree. The motto is more like, vini vidi vici, a little modified to “I came, I saw, I ticked it off my map”; even if it is a short day trip, an off-the-beaten path excites me more.

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6
comments

I have blog topic about What if's and one thing that I've learn from this is The opportunity is always unexpected. We don't know when it would happen. If you want to achieve your goal you need to take a risk. Sometimes taking risk is really hard sometimes you need to sacrifice things but we don't know if this is the first or last but if you try it's worth it if not you always try until you made it!

There are some risks that we need to delay on doing even if we want to, because of many reasons, mainly and usually, family. I think we can always take risks but make sure they are carefully calculated risks.